Insigna over the main door of the Palace of Grand Master Manoel de Vilhena in Mdina, Malta.
Dom António Manoel de Vilhena (1663 - 10 December 1736) was the 66th Grand Master of the Order of Saint John and ruled the island of Malta from 19 June 1722 to his death in 1736. Manoel de Vilhena was a Portuguese aristocrat of royal descent, son of Dom Sancho Manoel de Vilhena, 1st Count de Vila Flor, and first wife Ana de Noronha, and a remote uncle of the Duke of Terceira. Although most Grand Masters of the Order of Saint John were known to keep aloof from the Maltese populace, Vilhena was loved by the Maltese as he strived to better their lot and also set up a number of charitable institutions. To meet the demand for housing and accommodation in Valletta he laid the plans for the building of a suburb in the neighbourhood, Floriana, where his statue still stands today at a prominent place outside the Maglio Gardens. He built Fort Manoel in Marsamxett Creek. In 1731, he built the Manoel Theatre which is believed to be the second oldest theatre in Europe and is still in use today. His tomb in the Knights' Cathedral St John's Co-Cathedral is considered the largest and most sumptuous of all the Grand Masters' tombs.
Size: 5200px × 3465px
Location: Mdina, Malta, Europe
Photo credit: © Joseph Paul Vancell / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: arms, coat, coloured, grand, honey, john, knights, malta, master, mdina, st, stone
